Linda Ford: Director of Civil Rights

Ms. Ford was recently appointed as the Director for FTA’s Office of Civil Rights. Prior to that Ms. Ford served as the Acting Director for the office for the last two years. In this capacity, Ms. Ford manages the day-to-day activities of the office including personnel matters, program streamlining efforts, customer service standards, and outreach activities. Previously, Ms. Ford served as the Assistant Chief Counsel for the Legislation and Regulations Division in the FTA Chief Counsel’s Office. In this capacity, Ms. Ford provided advice in a number of areas including Congressional meetings and testimony, drafting assistance for legislation and regulations, and the development of guidance documents, circulars, and policy statements.

During her tenure at FTA, Ms. Ford also served as Senior Advisor to the Administrator from January 2007 until March of 2008. In that position, Ms. Ford served as the Continuous Improvement Coordinator responsible for several continuous improvement initiatives throughout the agency. She also advised the Administrator regarding transit funding and safety and security issues. Previous to taking her current position with FTA in 2005, Ms. Ford was a Senior Attorney in the Office of Regulation and Enforcement, DOT Office of the General Counsel, where she handled regulations on commercial space transportation, hazardous materials, pipeline safety, and railroad safety.

Before moving to Washington, D.C. in May 2001, Ms. Ford served as an Environmental Law Judge for the Office of Environmental Adjudication in Indianapolis, Indiana. She also served as a Deputy Attorney General handling environmental litigation for the Indiana Attorney General’s Office and worked as an attorney for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management handling hazardous waste issues.

Ms. Ford received her J.D. from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and a B.S. from Purdue University. She is a member of the Indiana Bar and is a Council Member for the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section of the American Bar Association and also serves as the Section’s Vice-Chair for the Transportation Committee.